Stettler truck driver Neil Easton, who collided with a minivan in August 2008, severely injuring a teenager, was sentenced to two years less a day in jail in Red Deer court on Thursday, Jan. 20, to be followed by a two year probation term.
The sentence imposed upon Easton, 51, by Justice Jim Foster was close to the maximum sentence sought by the Crown prosecutor Murray McPherson, who argued for a sentence between one and two years to be served in a federal institution.
Easton will serve his sentence in a provincial prison.
Jennifer Ham, a passenger of the minivan that was hit, was 15 at the time of the collision and she had her leg amputated above the knee due to injuries she suffered in the collision.
The driver of the van, Theresa Duncan, 37, also suffered injuries.
Foster found that Easton rolled through a stop sign and entered the intersection travelling at between 20 to 40 km/h.
“Rolling stops are stupid, foolish and dangerous,” Foster said in imposing the sentence.
Foster said Easton sacrificed “caution and prudence for haste, impatience and inattentiveness.”